New York
NYPD: Preacher, wife robbed of $1M in jewelry during sermon
NEW YORK (AP) — A preacher known for his close friendship with New York City's mayor was robbed of more than $1 million worth of jewelry Sunday by armed bandits who crashed his Brooklyn church service, just as he was sermonizing about keeping faith in the face of grave adversity, police said.
Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, who embraces his flashy lifestyle and can often be seen driving around the Big Apple in his Rolls Royce, was delivering a sermon at his Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries when police say three robbers walked in. They showed guns and demanded property from Miller-Whitehead and his wife, Asia K. DosReis-Whitehead, police said.
The service was also being livestreamed online.
In the video, which appears to have been removed from the church's social media channels, Miller-Whitehead is heard asking his flock, "How many of you have lost your faith because you saw somebody else die?" moments before the robbers entered the church.
He's then seen dropping to his hands and knees and repeatedly saying, "alright, alright," before a man holding a gun and wearing a black sweatshirt enters the frame. The man, who was also wearing a black face mask, is then seen approaching Miller-Whitehead, who was hiding behind a gold-colored lectern, and stuffing the bishop's jewelry into his pockets.
Another man, dressed in similar garb, is then seen heading toward Miller-Whitehead, lingering near him for a few minutes and then running off. Miller-Whitehead said in a video posted to Instagram that the robbers ripped his collar off to grab his chain and held a gun to his infant daughter's face while stealing his wife's jewelry.
Police said the robbers fled in a white Mercedes that was last seen on Avenue D near the church, in Brooklyn's Canarsie neighborhood. Neither Miller-Whitehead, 44, nor DosReis-Whitehead, 38, were physically injured, police said. They daughter was also unharmed.
In a video posted to Instagram, Miller-Whitehead said he felt a "demonic force" enter the church and wasn't sure if the gunmen "wanted to shoot the church up or if they were just coming for a robbery." He said he's thankful no one was hurt.
"When I see them come into the sanctuary with their guns, I told everybody to get out, everybody just get out," said Whitehead, who on Monday offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the robbers.
A message seeking comment was left with Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries.
Miller-Whitehead, 44, formed Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in 2013, after serving a five-year prison sentenced for identity theft and grand larceny. Miller-Whitehead claims he was illegally convicted.
A city hall spokesperson said New York Mayor Eric Adams spoke with Miller-Whitehead after the robbery Sunday.
"No one in this city should be the victim of armed robbery, let alone our faith leaders and congregants worshiping in a House of God," Adams said in a statement. "The NYPD is investigating this crime and will work tirelessly to bring the criminals involved to justice."
In a video posted Monday to YouTube, Miller-Whitehead thanked the mayor for his support. He said next Sunday's church services would go on as planned.
Adams, a former police captain, grew close to Miller-Whitehead while serving as Brooklyn's borough president — the position he held for eight years until becoming mayor in January. Miller-Whitehead made an unsuccessful bid last year to succeed Adams in that post.
In May, Miller-Whitehead made headlines for showing up to a Manhattan police precinct in a Rolls Royce SUV as he attempted to negotiate the surrender of a man accused of gunning down a stranger on a New York City subway train.
Miller-Whitehead told reporters at the time that he had "multiple conversations" with Adams regarding Andrew Abdullah's surrender, though the suspect was ultimately picked up by police outside the offices of the public defender organization that was representing him.
In an Instagram post Sunday, Miller-Whitehead defended his bling-loving lifestyle, saying he's "going to live his life the way God has it set up for him."
"It's not about me being flashy," Miller-Whitehead said. "It's about me, purchasing what I want to purchase. And it's my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase."
Oregon
Man sentenced to 17 years for sex trafficking teens
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man who took two girls from Eugene, Oregon, to Vancouver, Washington, supplied them with drugs, forced them to have sex and collected payments for it was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela Paaso said 34-year-old Johnl Jackson used force and coercion to traffic the girls, ages 14 and 15, and mentored another man who also forced the girls to have sex with men for money, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Jackson was arrested in 2019 in Vancouver. Paasco says with two co-defendants, Jackson recruited girls, advertised sexual services, delivered the girls to customers and split the proceeds.
A jury in March convicted Jackson of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a child, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity.
One of the victims listened to the hearing by phone and provided a written statement to the court, saying in part that Jackson had done the most unspeakable thing to her and that she's glad he won't be able to hurt another young child.
The victims, in separate instances in 2018, eventually were able to escape and call relatives, and in one instance, a 14-year-old girl convinced a man at a Battle Ground, Washington, barn party — where she had been taken — to help her.
Jackson's lawyer, Per C. Olson, said Jackson doesn't have a criminal history and had a difficult life with his dad in prison, homelessness and drug abuse.
Jackson told the judge he didn't feel like he had a fair trial.
Minnesota
Amir Locke's cousin sentenced in case that led to fatal raid
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The teenage cousin of Amir Locke was sentenced to more than 16 years on Monday for his role in a January murder that prompted police to execute a no-knock warrant on the Minneapolis apartment where Locke was killed by a SWAT team officer.
Mekhi Speed, 18, pleaded guilty in May to aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony — namely aggravated robbery — in connection with the Jan. 10 killing of 38-year-old Otis Elder.
Speed, who was 17 when Elder was shot, told the court during his plea hearing that he had a handgun when he and others tried to rob Elder of drugs in St. Paul, and there was a struggle and a shot was fired. Speed said he had no memory of pulling the trigger and didn't know if his accomplice was armed.
As St. Paul police were investigating Elder's murder, they identified Speed as a suspect and obtained search warrants for Minneapolis apartments associated with him. Locke, Speed's cousin, was not a target of the investigation and was not named in the warrants, but he was in one of the apartments as a Minneapolis SWAT team entered the unit without knocking on Feb. 2.
Video shows Locke, 22, who was Black, was shot seconds after police entered the apartment before 7 a.m. He was on a sofa wrapped in a comforter, and video shows he was holding a gun in the moments before he was shot. Police said he was shot after he pointed his gun in the direction of officers, but Locke's family has questioned that, and said he was startled awake.
Minnesota prosecutors declined to file charges the against Officer Mark Hanneman, saying his use of deadly force was justified. Locke's killing sparked protests and a reexamination of no-knock search warrants.
The Star Tribune reported that with credit for time in jail since his arrest, Speed, who was prosecuted in adult court, is expected to serve slightly more than 10 years in prison and the rest on supervised release.
Maine
Judge allows more DNA tests in 34-year-old killing
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A judge has granted a request for additional DNA tests by a man convicted of killing a 12-year-old girl more than three decades ago.
Dennis Dechaine is serving a life sentence for the murder and sexual assault of Sarah Cherry, who was abducted while babysitting in Bowdoin. Her body was found two days after she disappeared in July 1988.
But Dechaine has maintained his innocence, and his defense attorneys have continued filing appeals and requests for more DNA tests.
A state judge on Friday granted a defense request for additional DNA testing. The defense contends a newer technology can be used to collect DNA from fabrics that could've been missed previously.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has denied three requests for a new trial. In the latest, in 2015, the court concluded new DNA evidence wouldn't have changed the outcome of the original trial.
Virginia
Woman sentenced to 55 years in young son's death
HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — A Virginia woman was sentenced on Monday to 55 years in prison for the 2019 murder of her 2-year-old son three years ago.
Julia Leanna Tomlin, 37, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder, concealing a dead body and felony child abuse, The Virginian-Pilo t reported. She declined to speak when the judge asked if she had anything to say at the sentencing hearing.
Tomlin reported her 2-year-old son, Noah, missing June 24, 2019, from her trailer in the Buckroe Beach area. Police said she told them the boy must have been abducted sometime between when she put him to bed and then checked on him about 10 hours later.
A 10-day search ended when the boy's remains were found in a cardboard box at a trash incinerator. Authorities said she had claimed she'd been using heroin the day Noah died and that he drowned after she left him unattended in the bathtub. She told investigators she later placed his body in a diaper box, wrapped it in garbage bags and asked a friend to get rid of it.
A medical examiner found several long-term injuries on the toddler and ruled he died from blunt-force head trauma and battered child syndrome.
